Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality

Article 1

Establishment of the Institute

A European Institute for Gender Equality (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Institute’) is hereby established.

Article 2

Objectives

The overall objectives of the Institute shall be to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality, including gender mainstreaming in all Community policies and the resulting national policies, and the fight against discrimination based on sex, and to raise EU citizens' awareness of gender equality by providing technical assistance to the Community institutions, in particular the Commission, and the authorities of the Member States, as set out in Article 3.

Article 3

Tasks

To meet the objectives set in Article 2, the Institute shall:

(a) collect, analyse and disseminate relevant objective, comparable and reliable information as regards gender equality, including results from research and best practice communicated to it by Member States, Community institutions, research centres, national equality bodies, non-governmental organisations, social partners, relevant third countries and international organisations, and suggest areas for further research;

(b) develop methods to improve the objectivity, comparability and reliability of data at European level by establishing criteria that will improve the consistency of information and take into account gender issues when collecting data;

(c) develop, analyse, evaluate and disseminate methodological tools in order to support the integration of gender equality into all Community policies and the resulting national policies and to support gender mainstreaming in all Community institutions and bodies;

(d) carry out surveys on the situation in Europe as regards gender equality;

(e) set up and coordinate a European Network on Gender Equality, involving the centres, bodies, organisations and experts dealing with gender equality and gender mainstreaming in order to support and encourage research, optimise the use of available resources and foster the exchange and dissemination of information;

(f) organise ad hoc meetings of experts to support the institute's research work, encourage the exchange of information among researchers and promote the inclusion of a gender perspective in their research;

(g) in order to raise EU citizens' awareness of gender equality, organise, with relevant stakeholders, conferences, campaigns and meetings at European level, and present the findings and conclusions to the Commission;

(h) disseminate information regarding positive examples of non-stereotypical roles for women and men in every walk of life, present its findings and initiatives designed to publicise and build on such success stories;

(i) develop dialogue and cooperation with non-governmental and equal opportunities organisations, universities and experts, research centres, social partners and related bodies actively seeking to achieve equality at national and European level;

(j) set up documentation resources accessible to the public;

(k) make information on gender mainstreaming available to public and private organisations; and

(l) provide information to the Community Institutions on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the accession and candidate countries.

Article 4

Areas of activity and working methods

Article 5

Legal personality and capacity

The Institute shall have legal personality. It shall enjoy, in each of the Member States, the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their laws. In particular, it may acquire or dispose of movable or immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings.

Article 6

Independence of the Institute

The Institute shall carry out its activities independently in the public interest.

Article 7

Access to documents

Article 8

Cooperation with organisations at national and European level, international organisations and third countries

Article 9

Composition of the Institute

The Institute shall comprise:

(a) a Management Board;

(b) an Experts' Forum;

(c) a Director and his or her staff.

Article 10

Management Board

The Management Board shall consist of:

(a) eighteen representatives appointed by the Council, on the basis of a proposal from each Member State concerned;

(b) one member representing the Commission, appointed by the Commission;

The Council and the Commission shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women on the Management Board.

Alternates who represent the member in his or her absence shall be appointed by the same procedure.

The list of the members and alternates of the Management Board shall be published by the Council in the Official Journal of the European Union, on the website of the Institute and on other relevant websites.

The Management Board shall take the decisions necessary for the operation of the Institute. In particular, it shall:

(a) adopt, on the basis of a draft drawn up by the Director, as referred to in Article 12, after consultation with the Commission, the annual work programme and the medium term work programme, covering a three-year period, in accordance with the budget and the available resources; the programmes may be reviewed whenever necessary; the first annual work programme shall be adopted not later than nine months after the appointment of the Director;

(b) adopt the annual report referred to in Article 3(2), comparing, in particular, the results achieved with the objectives of the annual work programme; this report shall be forwarded by 15 June at the latest to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and shall be published on the website of the Institute;

(c) exercise disciplinary authority over the Director and appoint or dismiss him or her pursuant to Article 12; and

(d) adopt the Institute's annual draft and final budgets.

Article 11

Experts' Forum

The Experts' Forum shall be composed of members from competent bodies specialised in gender equality issues, on the basis of one representative designated by each Member State, two members representing other relevant organisations specialised in gender equality issues designated by the European Parliament, as well as three members designated by the Commission and representing interested parties at European level, with one representative each from:

(a) an appropriate non-governmental organisation at Community level which has a legitimate interest in contributing to the fight against discrimination on grounds of sex and the promotion of gender equality;

(b) employers' organisations at Community level; and

(c) workers' organisations at Community level.

The Member States and the Commission shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women in the Experts' Forum.

Members may be replaced by alternates, appointed at the same time.

Article 12

Director

The Director's term of office shall be 5 years. On a proposal from the Commission and after evaluation, that term of office may be extended once for a period of not more than 5 years. In the evaluation, the Commission shall assess in particular:

(a) the results achieved in the first term of office and the way they were achieved,

(b) the Institute's duties and requirements in the coming years.

The Director shall be responsible, under the supervision of the Management Board, for:

(a) performance of the tasks referred to in Article 3;

(b) preparing and implementing the Institute's annual and medium-term programmes of activities;

(c) preparing the meetings of the Management Board and the Experts' Forum;

(d) preparing and publishing the annual report referred to in Article 3(2);

(e) all staff-related matters, and in particular exercising the powers provided for in Article 13(3);

(f) matters of day-to-day administration; and

(g) the implementation of effective monitoring and evaluation procedures relating to the performance of the Institute against its objectives according to professionally recognised standards. The Director shall report annually to the Management Board on the results of the monitoring system.

Article 13

Staff

Article 14

Drawing up of the budget

The revenue of the Institute shall, without prejudice to other resources, comprise:

(a) a subsidy from the Community, entered in the general budget of the European Union (Commission section);

(b) payments received for services rendered;

(c) any financial contributions from the organisations or third countries referred to in Article 8; and

(d) any voluntary contribution from the Member States.

Where a branch of the budgetary authority has notified its intention to deliver an opinion, it shall forward its opinion to the Management Board within a period of six weeks from the date of notification of the project.

Article 15

Implementation of the budget

Article 16

Languages

Article 17

Privileges and immunities

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to the Institute.

Article 18

Liability

The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction pursuant to an arbitration clause contained in any contracts concluded by the Institute.

The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to compensation for any such damage.

Article 19

Participation of third countries

Article 20

Evaluation

Article 21

Review clause

The Management Board shall examine the conclusions of the evaluation mentioned in Article 20 and issue to the Commission such recommendations as may be necessary regarding changes in the Institute, its working practices and remit. The Commission shall forward the evaluation report and the recommendations to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and make them public. After examination of the evaluation report and the recommendations, the Commission may submit any proposals which it deems necessary concerning this Regulation.

Article 22

Administrative control

The operations of the Institute shall be subject to the supervision of the Ombudsman in accordance with the provisions of Article 195 of the Treaty.

Article 23

Start of the Institute's activities

The Institute shall be operational as soon as possible and in any event not later than 19 January 2008.

Article 24

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

STATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COMMISSION

Equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of the European Union. The Council, European Parliament and the European Commission aim to increase the awareness, the pooling of resources and the exchange of experience in the area of gender equality, in particular through the establishment of a European Institute for Gender Equality.

With regard to the organisation of the Institute, the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission state that the management structure, and in particular the number of representatives of the Member States on the Management Board, is determined by reference to the specific nature of the European Institute for Gender Equality and does not therefore constitute a precedent for other agencies in the future.

In order to ensure an orderly rotation of the members appointed by the Council, the Member States shall be divided into three groups of nine in the order of the forthcoming Presidencies. For the first term of office, the Council representatives shall be composed of members drawn from the first two groups of Member States; for the second term of office, the Council representatives shall be drawn from the third and first groups and for the third term of office from the second and third groups, and so on for subsequent terms of office (¹⁵). In the event of any future enlargement the rotation system will be adjusted accordingly.